The United States restoring to airdrops is an “indignity” for the nation, Esteban Carrillo, a journalist and editor for The Cradle, told Sputnik’s Fault Lines on Monday.
“[It is an] indignity for the United States to be there dropping aid when they’re supposed to be not just a partner of Israel [but] their patron. They’re the people giving them the bombs that are being dropped on Gaza… They should be the ones dictating what is happening, but of course, they’re not.”
Later, he added that the aid dropped by the US is “not even a significant amount of aid. They’re just [doing] that so, I guess, people back home can clap and [say] ‘yeah, we’re helping.’ Sadly, you’re not.”
Speaking on what has been dubbed the “Flour Massacre” during which Israeli forces fired on crowds of Palestinians crowding aid trucks. Israel blamed the incident on the crowd, saying they approached troops aggressively, and that most of the over 100 dead were caused by the subsequent stampede. However, the drone footage released from Israel appears to show IDF forces attacking the group and subsequent videos posted on social media showed IDF soldiers crushing Palestinian bodies with tanks.
“[This] is supposed to be one of the strongest armies in the world. They feel so threatened by… a group of famished Palestinians who haven’t seen a piece of bread for so long. [That] they opened fire, they ran over [them],” Carrillo described. “They feel they’re in their rights to do this. Today, it’s 150 days since this campaign of genocide started in Gaza… what’s the difference between where they stood on October 7 and today? It’s the same, they face no consequences.”
Israel has flouted US public efforts to ease the situation, publicly saying that they plan to attack the southern Gazan city of Rafah, regardless of ongoing ceasefire negotiations. “There’s such arrogance in their statements. They’ve said ‘No matter even if there is a ceasefire, we’re still going to go into Rafah, there’s nothing to stop us.’ Essentially, this has been their public message,” Carrillo explained. “It’s past the time that Joe Biden’s White House [should have] taken a stand and stopped this,” he added.
Carrillo argued that Israel won’t stop at Gaza, because Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges, needs the war to continue to keep him in office. “Yes, Israel is trying to start a war in Lebanon because, this war, Benjamin Netanyahu needs it to last at least until November [and] in Gaza, all military targets have been destroyed.”
“What are they bombing right now?” Carrillo asked rhetorically. “That’s why they’re bombing tents. They’re bombing the humanitarian shelters because it’s just tent cities. That’s where they’re dropping bombs. This morning they dropped a bomb at the Jabalia mass grave. They bombed a mass grave this morning… because they don’t have anything else to drop bombs on but civilians and the last remaining hospitals.”
Ultimately, Carrillo argues, the situation is also significantly harming Israel. “Yesterday, the Israeli media reported that there was a wave of resignation in the army. So, it’s not all roses for them either. At some point, they need to get a reality check. But sadly, Israel has been awaiting a reality check for the past 75 years.”